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Speaker Series & October Meeting
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SPEAKER SERIES
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MEETING INFORMATION
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Location - The Muse Whiskey and Coffee | Second Floor
- 6:00pm Social Hour
- 7:00pm Speaker and Food
Please Bring Your Halloween Themed Hors d'oeuvres. |
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October Speaker Series - Troy McGinnis, Marine Electrician
This month we are welcoming Troy McGinnis to the MSA Speaker Series, and this is one you do not want to miss.
Troy is a marine electrician, and he is coming to talk about one of the most important and most overlooked systems on your boat, your electrical system. Whether you are a seasoned sailor or just getting started, most of us know just enough about our boat's electrical system to be dangerous, and not quite enough to feel confident when something goes wrong.
Come with your questions!
This is exactly the kind of knowledge that keeps us safer on the water and more confident at the dock. |
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Halloween Costume Contest Batten down the hatches and hoist the Jolly Roger, mates. The October meeting is upon us and we are sailing straight into the heart of Halloween.
All hands on deck are commanded to come in costume. Whether you are a ghost, a sea witch, a shipwrecked sailor, or something that crawled up from the deep, we want to see your best. The costume contest will decide who rules these haunted waters.
And do not show up to this port empty handed. Bring something spooky, creepy, or devilishly delicious to share at the table. The galley is yours, so make it count. |
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A Halloween Heads-Up Haunted Harbor at the POE: October is going to be a good one. Haunted Harbor is returning to the Port of Everett on October 23rd, and we would love to see MSA represented out there. If you are a slip holder at the Port of Everett marina, you should have already received information directly. Everyone else can find full details on the Port of Everett Haunted Harbor page. Decorate your boat, hand out candy, and fly the MSA flag proudly. SV Samurai Dave and SV La Calavera Pepper participated last year. MSA won the popular vote!! |
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Social Sail - November 1st
Social Sails are what sailing is all about. No racing, no pressure, just MSA members getting out on the water together and enjoying the ride. We sail where the wind takes us, easy and breezy, and good company is the only requirement.
Please register so our coordinator knows who to expect. We would love to see you out there.
Meet at the Port of Everett Marina River by the Anthony's guest dock.
Questions? Email us at admin@milltownsailing.org |
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Speaker Series Member Meetings Questionnaire: We're planning upcoming Speaker Series Meetings and want to make sure the topics reflect what our members are most interested in. This short questionnaire asks you to suggest potential speaker topics, indicate your level of interest in each, and suggest a particular speaker. It should take just a few minutes to complete, and your responses will directly shape our upcoming speaker lineup. |
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The Membership Committee is open and looking for anyone interested in getting involved. Per the bylaws, the Membership Committee shall be responsible for all membership drives, for securing new members, and retaining current members. Reach out if it sounds like something you would like to be part of. Email commodore@milltownsailing.org if interested.
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The Holidays Are Coming | MSA Merch Story
Ho Ho Halyard! Give the sailor in your life something better than socks this year.
Shop the MSA Store for holiday gifts they'll actually use, or email msastore@milltownsailing.org for custom merch. Dream up your boat name in lights, your best (worst) sailing puns, or whatever nautical nonsense you can come up with. |
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October is my favorite month. I always enjoyed Halloween as a kid - what's not to love about loads of candy, getting to play dress up, and wandering the town after dark with your friends? I still enjoy that as an adult. Now I get the added bonus of being that person who answers the door and, by way of treats, brings a little bit of joy into somebody else's life the way it brought me joy as a kid. October also signals the beginning of my favorite time of year. In what feels like short succession, we have holiday after holiday from the end of this month through the beginning of the year. Having reasons to join together with my nearest and dearest is what makes it so special to me. Milltown is such a wonderful community of amazing people. I look forward to gathering with everyone over the next several months in what will surely be a time full of laughter, happiness, and the sharing of stories with both new friends and old Fair winds,
Stacey Lauer, SV Sérénité
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POINT OF SAIL GROUP DISCUSSION
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Point of Sail — Sailing and Mental Health: The Healing Power of the Water
There is something Luke said in his feature this month that stuck with me. Standing on the deck of GECKO for the first time, surrounded by the open water of Puget Sound, he felt uneasy, nervous, scared, and excited all at once. And instead of turning back, he leaned in. Two years later he cannot stop coming back.
Most of us know that feeling. Something about being on the water shifts something inside of us that is hard to put into words. As it turns out, science is starting to catch up to what sailors have known for a long time.
Researchers have found that proximity to water, what marine biologist Wallace J. Nichols calls the Blue Mind, triggers a mild meditative state in the brain. The sound of water, the movement of a boat, the horizon stretching out in every direction. These things lower cortisol levels, reduce anxiety, and bring the nervous system into a state of calm focus that is increasingly hard to find in modern life.
Sailing takes it a step further. Unlike sitting on a beach, sailing demands your full presence. You cannot scroll your phone when you are trimming a sail, reading the wind, or watching for traffic in Admiralty Inlet. The water insists that you show up completely, and in doing so it gives your mind a rare and genuine rest from everything else.
For many sailors, especially those who came to the sport later in life or during a difficult period, the boat has been a lifeline. A place to process, to breathe, to feel small in a way that is not frightening but freeing. As Luke put it; I am tiny, the ocean is huge, and that is oddly comforting.
This is not a small thing. In a world where anxiety, burnout, and disconnection are at record levels, having a place that pulls you fully into the present moment, surrounds you with community, and reminds you that there are forces far greater than your to-do list is genuinely valuable.
So here is the question for the group. What has sailing done for your mental health? Was there a moment on the water that shifted something for you? And how do we make sure that what this community offers, the connection, the presence, the permission to just be out there, is something we extend to people who might need it most?
Come ready to share. |
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Thursday October 15th, 2026
4:30 PM PT / 7:30 PM ET
Sailing Skills
Seamanship
with John Neal | Team Mahina
An online class to help sailors and aspiring cruisers gain the knowledge and skill they need to care for their crew and boat while at sea.
90-Minute Live Session
On Demand Replay Available
Live Q&A
Designed for sailors of all skill levels, will aim to enhance the understanding of maintaining boat and crew safety in various conditions. Led by renowned offshore sailor John Neal, the live online class will cover essential seamanship skills, including pre-departure safety checks, emergency protocols, navigation best practices, and techniques for safe offshore seamanship. enabling them to confidently navigate and manage their boats for global voyaging or casual sailing. Whether you're a casual sailor or cruiser planning global voyages, you'll gain the valuable knowledge needed to navigate and manage your boat confidently and safely.
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It has been a season of light air patience and hard lessons out there. The Northern Century, the Women at the Helm Race, and the Fall Regatta have all come and gone with barely a breath of wind to show for it. Three races, three chances for Puget Sound to deliver, and three times the fleet was left searching for pressure that never quite showed up.
With the Fall Series now underway, here is hoping October brings the breeze we have all been waiting for. The season is young and the sound owes us one. |
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As for the Northern Century, it was a tough one. The conditions simply did not cooperate and none of our MSA boats were able to finish the race. No shame in that. Sometimes the Sound wins. We tip our hats to everyone who toed the line and gave it everything they had.
Now, eyes forward.
The 46th Annual Foulweather Bluff Race, hosted by Corinthian Yacht Club of Edmonds, took place October 3rd out of Kingston. A mid-distance race with three course options ranging from approximately 10 to 24 nautical miles, the fleet took in marks at Apple Cove Point, Pilot Point, the Foulweather Bluff navigational buoy, and Scatchet Head on the south end of Whidbey Island.
MSA showed up and showed out. Six boats flew our colors and when the results came in, SV Samurai had made a statement on the short course with a 3rd place finish. But the headline of the day belonged to our Salish Circuit competitors. Gecko took 1st and Parthian Shot took 2nd, with Dopamine of OHYC rounding out the podium in 3rd.
A strong finish to the fourth and final race of the Salish Circuit. Well sailed, everyone. Well sailed. |
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Kingston: Sail In, Prost Up
This month's cruise brings us to Kingston, and the timing could not be better.
A little history. Oktoberfest began in Munich, Germany in 1810 as a celebration of the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria. What started as a royal wedding party on the fields of Theresienwiese grew into one of the world's most beloved traditions, drawing millions of visitors to Munich each year for sixteen days of Bavarian food, music, dancing, and beer. The tradition has since spread across the globe, and the Pacific Northwest is no exception.
This month we are bringing that spirit to the water. Our cruise to Kingston will be Oktoberfest themed, so dust off your lederhosen, dig out your dirndl, and come ready to celebrate. If dressing up is not your thing, no pressure. Just bring your good spirits and your appetite.
Sail in, tie up, raise a stein, and enjoy the best of fall on the water with your MSA family.
Prost. See you in Kingston.
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Question:
Boat A is approaching the leeward mark in first place. A nearby race committee boat is making some sound signals and has a flag and two boards displayed. The flag is a blue, white, red, white, blue flag with horizontal bars, a red rectangular board, and a board with a large horizontal sign on it. What do those signals mean?
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Luke Cleaver
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I'm Luke Cleaver. I live in Mukilteo with my dog Freyja and my cat Kuda. I am currently a school bus driver for the City of Everett. Before driving a bus, I spent about ten years as a party chief in land surveying, and I earned a Bachelor of Applied Science in Geomatics from Idaho State University using my GI Bill after seven years in the Army.
Since I was young, I always had a sense for adventure; hiking the Cascades, snowboarding, camping, white water rafting, skydiving, anything to get out of the house. These days I keep moving on my motorcycle or bicycle and give back through the animal shelter and the Mukilteo food bank.
Sailing got into my life because when I was younger, I sailed a little Lightning class sailboat and just loved it. Thirty plus years later I decided to give it another try, took a class at the Center for Wooden Boats to get back to basics, and not wanting to keep heading down to Seattle to sail, I found Milltown. Two years later I am still here, still trying to convince myself I know what I am doing.
My first time out was with Gecko for a Log Dodge and when you get out on that much open water there is an intimidation factor that made me feel uneasy, nervous, scared, and excited all at once. Growing up in Washington and living here most of my life, the Sound was always just there. Something you drive past, see from shore, and never really think twice about. But the moment you are out on it, surrounded by that much open water with nothing between you and the horizon, it hits you differently. I thought, if this makes me this uncomfortable and excited it must be what I am meant to be doing.
I am currently sailing with Grant on Mei Li, and Grant just sort of granted me to his boat the way Grant does. He always has a good story and is never afraid to teach you about wind, the boat, anything you want to know. His crew is an extension of that positive mindset, plus we win on occasion which is always fun.
Two years in and I just keep wanting to be on the water. What the Sound has taught me more than anything is that I am not in control. I am tiny. The ocean is huge. It just does what it does, and that is oddly comforting. My next chapter is getting a boat and having a club willing to teach and have fun along the way makes taking that step easy. |
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Shout Outs & Recognition
Do you know someone who deserves a little recognition? Someone who went the extra tack to help out, stepped up when it mattered, or simply made someone's day on the water a little better? We want to hear about it.
Email us at information@milltownsailing.org to nominate someone for Featured Member of the Month, or just to give a shout out to someone who deserves credit where credit is due. No gesture is too small, if it meant something to you, it means something to us.
Let's make sure the people who show
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